Long Island weather: Friday set new high temp as winds died down

Winds are expected to die down this weekend after gusts as high as 60 mph took down trees and power lines throughout Long Island on Friday, weather officials said.

Gusts no stronger than 30 mph are expected Saturday when the high temperature should reach the low 40s, according to the National Weather Service. Sunday will be relatively windless, reaching only 5 mph, with a slight chance of rain showers in the morning into the afternoon, meteorologists said. The high temperature Sunday also is expected to reach the low 40s, officials said.

Unlike this weekend, Friday's weather was all over the map with the extremely windy conditions but also a record-high temperature for this date on Long Island.

Friday saw a high of 54 degrees, beating the previous Feb. 7 record of 52 degrees in 1990, the weather service said. Despite the unseasonably warm temperatures Friday, the Island saw "damaging" winds, the NWS said.

A high-wind warning ended at 7 p.m. Friday, which saw sustained southwest winds of 25 to 35 mph and gusts up to 60 mph, the NWS said.

The wind took down trees and wires across Long Island, creating traffic headaches in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Traffic was blocked on East Jericho Turnpike at Depot Road in Huntington Station, Suffolk police said. West Neck Road closed in both directions at Penataquit Place in Huntington. A tree came down at that spot and took wires with it, Suffolk police said.

Suffolk police also said they had received calls for a tree down on Bagatelle Road in Dix Hills, and several calls for electrical wires down in the Second Precinct: There was a line down on Abby Drive in Elwood, wires and other lines down on West Neck Road, Lloyd Harbor Road and Cove Road, all in Huntington. A tree fell on Bagatelle Road in Melville, blocking the road between Threepence Drive and Wilmington Drive, police said, and a tree fell on a vehicle on Creek Road in Halesite, north of Huntington village.

Nassau police said they received calls of wires down at Scudders Lane and Motts Cove Road in Roslyn Harbor; on Roosevelt Avenue in Massapequa Park and on Bedell Street in Baldwin. A sign also blew off into the road at North Newbridge Road and North Bellmore Road in Levittown, police said.

Authorities said two traffic lights went out: at Glen Cove Road and Town Path in East Hills, and at Merrick Road and Forest Avenue in Massapequa.

PSEG Long Island had issued a statement Friday morning saying it was prepared for the anticipated strong winds.

“We are closely monitoring this weather system and our crews are ready to respond safely and as quickly as possible to any service interruptions,” said John O’Connell, vice president of transmission and distribution at PSEG Long Island.

The utility reported 2,914 customers without power shortly after 7 p.m. Friday.

With Robert Brodsky